Turbinator

I am a big fan of JB Weld. Metal to metal it holds real good. Turbinator

Ed, I really don’t think I’m in that 400 point league. I have attention to detail, but I have my limits. I bet it would be fun had I started out that way. Oh, by the way I have seen the Dinsmore compass chrome finish compass for sale, but not installed. Since the Buick sales brochure says the chrome finish was an option that is close enough for me. The brochure I have is no problem to prove the info is legitimate. Turbinator

Ed, as close to 100 out of my 100 point criteria. I’m not up to date on Buick 400 point awards. I suppose I could look up the criteria for 400 points BCA award. Thank you for the idea. Turbinator

I thought Keflavik would be on the list. Reykjavik I suppose covers Iceland. Gets pretty cold up that way.

Bernie, Some sailors and Marines I once knew would tell me stories of shore leave in the Far East. One of the standard comments was, “ How much that haircut cost you?” Services provided other than tonsorial items were talked about quite a bit with my former military service friends. Turbinator

Zimm, I’ve got many lessons like take your time and more light is better by a measurable number. my best lesson is everything has a place and in it’s place. This lesson about organization and storage never stops. Bob

Ed, my boyhood pals would say, " Use a micro-fying glass and see if you can see it!" I have three or so of those micro-fying glasses in my shop. One of the few good things about aging is somethings that get by you learn not to care so much. Now, matching colors when repainting air cleaners on the 63 Rivieras is no margin for error. Yep, like nailing jello on the wall. Turbinator ( 3F in my neighborhood... close to a Maryland record )

Tom, thanks for your assistance in helping me understand. The subject is tedious and those experienced in auto mechanics may view my concern as not an important item and known as a given in accepted wheel balancing. On the other hand I was in mailing/small parcel shipping and mailing industry for 31 years and folks would complain about poor delivery or no delivery. I would ask, "did you use address hygiene?" I was trying to say to the mailer did you use correct addressing methods ? The cliche "no brainer" applies to balancing wheels and mailing a letter. Mailing a letter and balancing wheels have standard accepted practice. I appreciate your patience and help. To mix a metaphor and stab at humor, " I'm going to stop banging my head up against a dead horse." Turbinator...... on balance this AM. 3F in Lutherville Md

Ed, would not the loss of the weight from the hole being punched out not be an issue in balancing the hubcap or the wheel? The balancer just balances what he has to work on. Some have done high speed balancing of the tire and wheel ,but hubcaps were not on the car. I remember guys that were insistent all four of the valve caps had to be plastic or metal. You couldn’t mix plastic and metal valve caps? Give me a break!

Tom, so if I understand correctly dynamically balanced is when the wheel is balanced while it is spinning? The only balance of tires and wheels I know about was as you mentioned with the bubble balance. I understand how that was done. No wheel cover on the bubble balance that I witnessed. Buick may well have had dynamic balancing machines for the wheelcovers to justify a quick end of the fiscal year expenditure. It wouldn’t be the first time a large corporation or government agency spent end of the year budget leftover monies on something superfluous. I’m the meantime Ill just leave the weights where they are on my used hubcaps. It puzzles me how two different “ wheels “ that go together are balanced independently and it works! Thanks to all Turbinator

In the event the weights were put on the cast aluminum cover at the time the Riviera was purchased then the wheel cover would have experienced a period of time on the car. My burning question is how could such a wheel cover be represented as new old stock when listed for sale.? Maybe NOS is a catch all acronym for gently used or nearly new. Seems a better description of other than new car parts could be better written. Just my opinion. People can write what they want. Caveat Emptor. Turninator

Tom, if the weights were put on the wheel covers before the covers left the factory how did the person putting the weights know where to place them? The tire, the car all could have variables that needed to be assessed at the time the covers were put on. please help me on this one Turbinator

Gents, would anyone care to speculate at what time in a 63/64 Riv cast aluminum wheel cover get a weight attached? i see these little tan weights clamped on the backside of the wheelcover? We’re the weights put on at the factory? zTurbinator

Ed, our friends were crackin’ On hard on the dashtop skins. Some of the dash covers maybe weak and not good looking at all. Poor fit , and down right not fitting for a proper Riviera. Well, after I finish this set of “ hubcaps” I’m polishing I’ll get that sorely disrespected DashTop product refitted and then we will have another look. Turbinator

Rivnik, it is a universal law that when you are cool, good looking, and drive a Riviera it must come out. The cool factor is too high to be hidden. Turbinator

No, you would have known if it dropped. The rectangular piece of metal does not go against a knurled knob it goes against a place on the adapter that holds the drive gear in the transmission AND the speedo cable to the drive gear. I’ll get pic and send it along Turbinator

Zimm, Ive had the speedo cable in and out more times than I want to admit On my 63. I put the transmission shifter in reverse and turned knurled knob on the speedo cable that goes in the transmission by hand. The 3/8" hex head bolt I think you are taking about holds a metal rectangle piece with one of the corners cut off to hold the knurled speedo knob tight. The metal rectangle should swing down when you loosen the bolt. Turn the knurled knob on the transmission to loosen and the cable should come out. There is an adapter that fits in the transmission that connects the speedo cable to the drive gear inside the transmission. The sellers of new speedo cables for the 63 say it is an exact fit, but it's a lie. The cables I got were too long and you've got to cut them the right length if you replace the one you have. If the one you have is working leave it alone. Something else could be the problem like a worn drive gear. The white Delron drive gear for the 63 is expensive ( $100.00 ) so treat it with care. I'm going on my experience, I'm not an expert. Turbinator

Here is. 64

If you have any cast aluminum wheel covers send them to me and I’ll recondition them. All cracks aluminum brazed or TIG welded. ALL new 18-8 stainless studs. New grade 8 flange nuts with nylon lock. Webs powder coated. The back of the cover is powder coated. The rest of the cover cleaned, polished, and buffed out. Just like this: Or buy a set, one, 4 whatever

Ed, in some areas of the country the wheel wells still light up at night. Turbinator

Tom, I've looked at many of the Dinsmore compasses. It seems they made the compass for a long time. The earlier Dinsmore compass did not have the red symbol you specify. I think Dinsmore may have been trying to sell to the Chevy owners. Again, I'm only speculating why the symbol that looks like a chevron on the compass. The pic I show of mine shows the compass as black, but the compass is gray. Gray and Red go together ok. The feature I like the compass I have is the light feature. I'm backed up on "shining hubcaps" right now so I'll get the compass installed a bit later. Turbinator

Gents, I'm all in. Clique-y is a much better way to describe what my "sense" was at the time. The fact I did not have a car in LA ( Lomita ) at all doesn't even quality me to say the Lowriders were a closed group. My mistake on that comment. I was very much an admirer of the lowrider styling in the mid sixties. Hydraulics were new, very new. Most of the guys I knew clamped the springs down. For wire wheels there were these "chrome wired baskets" that were fastened to an extended bracket on chrome wheels topped of with a chrome two bar spinner. Looked good, real good. Pearl Essence paint was new, or maybe it was lacquer that gave the paint so much depth. The modified look of the lowrider car I think is the best appearance. I'm still mystified about why bouncing contests are fun. I just don't know. A friend of mine had a lowered 65 Impala SS he let me borrow when I got my license. I was all of 18 years old in 68 and I was the "Dude" around town driving the 65 lowered Impala. My Riviera is stock. The Riviera is 5" off the ground and with arthritis and my weight it's all I can do to get in and out without kicking the kick panel. Here is a pic of my ride at my home in Lutherville Md.

Ed, I have no plans to make the Red Riviera a 400 point car. A few more items taken care of and I'll be okay. I need the AC reinstalled, the dash touched up where I scraped it putting it in the car, and eliminate the noise in the radio and that should be "it". Oh, I want to revisit the POR 15 job on the under carriage and get the spots I missed in the channels of the X frame. Tom, I think the red symbol is not a Dinsmore logo/trademark. The earlier Dinsmore compass did not have the single chevron. The earlier Dinsmore did have " Dinsmore Flint MI" stamped on the outside. There are repros of the Dinsmore compasses available and advertised as such. If I were going to buy a second collector car it would be the 50 Chevrolet DeLuxe coupe. I had the 50 DeLuxe coupe my Uncle gave me so I could go to "school."

Tom, found a pic of the chrome finish Dinsmore compass. I ve never seen a Dinsmore right on the spot, so a pic is a pic. The pic was in Jalopy magazine. My memory is fading, but I could have bet I saw a pic of a chrome finish Dinsmore compass with the Buick tri shield. I was leafing through Gene Garnere's stack and saw the compass. Gene said he's never seen a chrome compass. Purse hook for the lady. Funny what ladies carry in their purse. Did you ever see a 45 RPM record player in a car? Well, I saw one and even played the records in Frank's 55 Chex in mid sixties. The record side you wanted to play went on the spindle with the side you wanted to play facing the ground. The stylus was pointed toward the sky when the activated. Do not hit any bumps! It was cool at the time, the records were scratched all over and the sound was not so good, still fun. Turbinator